


Gatchararara!!

by bannanachan



Category: Durarara!!, Gatchaman Crowds
Genre: Crossover, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-13
Updated: 2015-06-13
Packaged: 2018-04-04 04:45:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4125922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bannanachan/pseuds/bannanachan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryuugamine Mikado decides to try a new social network.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gatchararara!!

**Author's Note:**

> This is (pretty obviously) an alt canon taking off from the end of the first season of Durarara!! and discounting what happens in Durarara!!x2 Shou - mostly because I wrote it when the second season was still coming out.
> 
> She/her pronouns for Rui.

Miso splashed onto the table as the news broadcast came through and Walker dropped his spoon into the bowl. It was only a few seconds before the rest of the soup went crashing over the side as he stood up with a jolt, his shouts echoing all the way down the hall.

“Dotachin! Dotachin! _There are aliens on the TV!_ ”

***

Taro Tanaka has entered the chatroom  
Setton has entered the chatroom

Setton: Good morning.  
Taro Tanaka: Morning.  
Setton: How are you doing today?  
Taro Tanaka: Fine, I guess.  
Setton: ?  
Setton: Is something wrong?  
Taro Tanaka: Nothing really. We’ve just been bored lately.  
Setton: Oh. That’s too bad. I guess it’s better than the alternative…  
Taro Tanaka: I suppose.  
Setton: Hey, have you heard anything about GALAX?  
Taro Tanaka: What’s GALAX?  
Setton: It’s an app that’s getting pretty popular lately…  
Taro Tanaka: Oh? Have you downloaded it, Setton-san?  
Setton: I was thinking about it.  
Taro Tanaka: Maybe we could join together.  
Setton: Sounds fun. I’ll send you a link.  
Taro Tanaka: Sure.  
Taro Tanaka: It might at least be worth a try.

***

Honestly, Mikado joined GALAX to try to meet Kida.

He knew that wasn’t right of him. He trusted Kida. He’d come back when he was ready; if he hadn’t come back yet, he wasn’t ready. It was just taking longer than he’d thought it would, and he missed him. And he could tell Anri did, too. So he thought just maybe, that if he found him like that, it wouldn’t be cheating, or intruding on his privacy. If it was just chance, then it would be okay.

He didn’t meet him, though. He met Hajime.

She was a lot like Kida, in some respects. Like Kida used to be. So energetic you can barely keep up, let alone respond. He didn’t even try to, for the most part; he just watched her and listened to her talk and it made him happy, being with someone like that.

Anri came along once or twice, but mostly stayed out of it, as he’d expected. (Much to Hajime’s chagrin, though Mikado suspected that her enthusiasm may have been part of what scared Anri off in the first place.) Celty, too, more rarely than him – she didn’t get to leave Ikebukuro that often, even if the meetups weren’t that far away. Not everyone in GALAX was thrilled to be around the Black Biker at first, but Hajime’s excitement was catching, and soon enough she received as warm a welcome as anyone there.

GALAX felt good. Doing helpful things, being around people. Trusting strangers, trusting the Internet. It was good. He thought it felt like coming home, even though it sounded corny thinking of it that way. Best of all, he was at the center of none of it. Even as Celty became to be more well-known among the users (more than she was already), Mikado remained in relative anonymity. No one even remembered the Dollars any more, all this time later. No one knew who he was, or cared who he was. He was nobody. He was thrilled.

And then one day, Hajime was on the TV.

Tachikawa wasn’t far away, but it happened more on the news than in his backyard, so the events that happened then were mostly abstract to him. He pitched in online as much as he could, in the forums, on the Gatchannel and the app. Celty even drove to Tachikawa to assist the evacuation, Shizuo and Anri piled awkwardly into a sidecar along with her. Afterwards, the reports that came in noted almost no casualties. To Mikado, it was witnessing a miracle.

He sent her a message during the thick of the chaos, knowing it would be some time before she might see it. _I want to talk to you. Can you meet me in Ikebukuro some time soon?_

The next day, he got a reply.

_Yes!!!!!!_

The day after that, he sat across the table from her in Russian Sushi, a bowl of untouched Borscht udon cooling between them.

He told her _everything._ He tried leaving things out at first, trying not to implicate anyone besides himself and Celty. But at some point, it all came spilling out, from the moment he got his first computer to Anri and Kida and the Blue Squares and Izaya and everything, down to the last detail. He had never seen Hajime stay quiet as long as she did then. He kept expecting her to interject, but she didn’t, just smiled and nodded and made occasional cooing sounds.

When he finally finished, Hajime grinned from ear to ear as she spoke.

“Mikado-san, I know someone who you should know!”

***

Rui Niyomiya tugged on her wig, looked in the mirror, and tried to smile at herself.

Life since it happened – going out in public – was strange. Strange because she wasn’t anonymous any more, the one thing she had devoted so much time and energy to being pulled out from under her identity. Strange because of the attention, stranger still because it was almost exclusively positive. She was used to looks in public, but nothing like this, nothing like stranger after stranger asking her name and shaking her hand and bowing and saying _thank you, thank you,_ a smile on every face. She was so happy, she almost cried. She was being seen how she wanted to be seen, she was loved. She wasn’t alone any more. She smiled back.

But alone – in front of the mirror – it was a little harder, still. And she wanted to practice. Those radiant smiles all around her deserved nothing less than her best. She had to share her joy.

Her phone buzzed, and suddenly, she smiled all on her own; it was a message from Hajime. Although – even for Hajime – the contents were a bit confusing.

_Can u meet me & a friend in Ikebukuro in 2 hrs???  
He’s really excited to meet you!!!_

She frowned. What was Hajime doing in Ikebukuro?

“You don’t have any conflicts today until your 7 PM meeting.” X announced. “Travel time to Ikebukuro by train from your current location is 1 hour, 8 minutes. The next train for Shinjuku departs from Tachikawa station in 10 minutes.”

“Who do you think she’s talking about?” Rui asked.

“Maybe a new Gatchaman?”

Rui shook her head. “Why would she bother me about that instead of the others? It sounds like they’re alone. And it sounded like she knows him, too.”

“Do you want a bodyguard? There are 20 GALAX users nearby who -”

Rui waved her hand. “If Hajime trusts him, it’s okay. Besides, I’ll have you, right? What do I need anyone else for?”

“As you wish, Rui.”

Maybe she would have felt differently if she’d known she was going to go meet one of Tokyo’s most powerful gang leaders in the last decade. But she doubted it. Life was better when you trusted people. She was sure of it.

***

Kida Masaomi hadn’t seen Saki in 6 weeks. He had not yet convinced himself to be okay with it. In hindsight, everything about Saki had been a mistake, and he knew that – he believed it. But she was a mistake she was used to. When she left, he didn’t know how to be alone any more. Not in a café, not for half an hour, not for an instant. Not without being lonely.

So when he finally saw Utsutsu push open the door, he was happy.

He’d been hesitant to join GALAX. Hesitant to click on the link that had been dropped, so purposefully, on their mutual messaging board service. He didn’t want to see Mikado yet. He still felt like a failure. He half-suspected Izaya’d put it there. Mostly, he needed more time. But when Saki left, he clicked it anyway. He changed his handle, and his avatar, and his speech patterns. And he didn’t find Mikado, and Mikado wouldn’t find him. But other people did.

One of them was Utsutsu. He liked Utsutsu. Mostly, they chatted online – she was busy, even though he wasn’t – but sometimes they got to meet in person, and it always made him so happy when they did. Kida hadn’t made anyone smile in a long time. Utsutsu changed that, and for that, he couldn’t thank her enough.

She spotted him from the café door and walked over, sliding easily into the chair across from him. “Good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon, Utsutsu! Where have you been? How are you today?” Kida asked, his voice booming.

“School.” Utsutsu said quietly. “Sleepy.”

“But it’s so beautiful! You should never be sleepy on a beautiful day. We should go take a walk, right? Then you wouldn’t be sleepy!”

Utsutsu blushed and smiled, and every inch of Kida filled up with warmth. This was what he came here for.

A waiter walked over and asked for their order. Kida browsed his phone while Utsutsu appraised the menu. As casually as he could, he opened up the DOLLARS chat. It had been fairly empty since Mikado had moved over to GALAX, save the odd messages from Izaya or the twins. Still, he checked it. Maybe it was only habit, but even if so, he didn’t imagine he’d break it any time soon. He couldn’t stand not to check. Just in case.

As it happened, there was a message on the board that afternoon, left there from that morning.

Taro Tanaka has entered the chatroom

Taro Tanaka: Hello?  
Taro Tanaka: Is anyone there?  
Taro Tanaka: I guess not.  
Taro Tanaka: I’m going to Russia Sushi this afternoon, so maybe I’ll see some of you there?

Taro Tanaka has exited the chatroom

Kida closed his phone. He didn’t want to look at that right now.

When he looked up again, the waiter wasn’t the only one at their table.

Ten or so of the café’s customers had suddenly closed in on Utsutsu, all of them with phones in their hands and smiles on their faces. They were talking so quickly he could barely make out the words.

“How long have you –” 

“Where do you come from?”

“Is the panda with –”

“Thank you so much!”

Oh. Right.

Utsutsu was smiling back, but she was also starting to shrink, so he decided to take action. He stood up with enough emphasis to shake the table slightly. Almost immediately, the crowd quieted down, eyes drawn towards him.

“Excuse me!” He said. “I know that everyone is very excited to see Utsutsu, and you should be! She’s amazing! But there are a lot of you, so would you please take turns? It’s hard for her if you don’t, and she’ll be online later on anyway! I’m sure you can ask her and all the other Gatchaman questions then and they’d be happy to answer. Right Utsutsu?”

For a second, she was frozen. Then suddenly, she smiled and nodded. “Th-thank you for your words.” She said. “I’d be happy to answer all your questions later. But I’m with my friend right now, so I’d like to keep talking to him.”

In a matter of moments, the crowd was gone. Nearly as quickly as they came, in a herald of “thank yous” and “see you laters”, they dissipated back into the café. Utsutsu’s food came. And Kida sat there marveling at the idea that someone might once more call him friend.

Utsutu’s phone went off. She looked down at it, and then back up at him.

“It’s Hajime. She said she wants me to meet her in Ikebukuro.”

His eyes widened. “Oh. Well. I’ll see you later, Utsutsu.”

She shook her head. “But she said she wanted you to come, too.”

***

“Rui, this is Mikado! Mikado, this is Rui!”

Mikado looked at the girl standing across from him, jaw unhinged. He had sort of guessed, when she said she was going to bring someone to meet him. But it was something else entirely to see her right in front of him. Funny – Hajime having superpowers didn’t even phase him. But Rui standing right there next to him felt like the closest he’d ever been to a real hero.

Rui smiled at him politely and took a small bow. “Mikado. It’s nice to meet you. How do you know Hajime?”

He barely managed to open his mouth before she spoke. “Mikado made the DOLLARS!”

Well, that cat was out of the bag.

He laughed sheepishly and extended a hand, putting the other behind his neck. “It’s nice to meet you, Rui.”

Rui did not take his hand. She instead seemed to have been shocked still, her eyes lighting up like a pair of rockets. “You? You’re the leader of the DOLLARS?”

He laughed nervously. “Well, former leader, yes. I mean, the DOLLARS never really had a leader – I just sort of set it up, so –”

“But that’s amazing!” Rui declared, taking another step forward. “Mikado, that’s so amazing! I mean, I was never a part of them, but I heard – it was the first thing that gave me the idea to make GALAX, seeing all those people working together. You – that meant the world to me, I can’t thank you enough.”

Again, Mikado found himself stunned, staring back at Rui with hand still half-outstretched. Hajime looked between the two of them for a second before breaking the silence. “Hey, Simon! Can we get more sushi over here for my friend?”

Simon smiled at her amicably. “Of course, young lady! Sushi is good for talking! Lots of sushi! Hey, Dennis! The Gatchaman would like more sushi!”

He disappeared into the back kitchen and Hajime turned back to the two of them. “Mikado, Simon seems really nice!” She declared. “Was he part of the DOLLARS? Is he part of GALAX?”

“I don’t – um, I don’t know.” Mikado stammered. He somehow managed to find a way into his seat. “I mean, yes, he was… but Rui, thank you very much. It’s not – I don’t think I deserve your praise, but you are very kind.”

Rui shook her head, sitting down across from him. “No, I don’t think that’s true at all. Mikado, you… it might not have meant a lot to you. But it meant the world to me.”

He shook his head back. “GALAX means the world, Rui. You might even save it. The DOLLARS… we never had that kind of power. I didn’t run it, and I didn’t stop it when I should have. People actually listen when you talk. Even when they don’t know you. That’s amazing. You’re amazing.”

Rui blushed, and for a moment or two, she was silent, staring at her lap. Hajime even stopped her humming for a moment when she saw the look on her face. She spoke after a long second, her gaze still averted. “When I was younger.” She said. “Before I knew how to code really well, before I had GALAX or X, or any money, I was very alone. And it was very, very hard for me. But I watched the news one day, and I saw a report about the DOLLARS, and what you did. If I hadn’t seen that, I don’t think I would have made it this far. I know the DOLLARS weren’t what you wanted them to be, but GALAX owes its existence to them – I owe my existence to them. To you. So please, let me thank you.”

Mikado sat stunned for a second before he could reply. “You’re… you’re welcome.”

She smiled. He smiled back. He really couldn’t thank Hajime enough for this. He’d never been able to talk about this stuff with Anri, or Kadota, or anyone – it was just too much, he didn’t know where to start. And he knew they wouldn’t understand, even if they would have tried. So he’d just let it be, and it had eaten him up inside. Until now.

Rui’s phone went off, and she looked up in surprise. “Excuse me for a second.” She said, and withdrew the device from her bag. She glanced at it only briefly before returning it to her bag and then standing. “I’m so sorry, it looks like I’m needed elsewhere – the Prime Minister needs some help with X’s software. It was good to meet you, Mikado – I hope I’ll be seeing you again very soon.”

“It was good to meet you too.” He replied immediately. “Thank you so much for coming all the way out here.”

“It was no trouble at all. And thank you, too, Hajime.” Rui said, giving the other girl a look that was unintelligible to Mikado.

Hajime smiled back and waved at her with characteristic exuberance. “See you at home, Rui! Say hi to the Minister for me!”

Rui smiled, curtseyed, and made her way to the door. A moment later, she stopped suddenly in the doorway, nearly colliding with another girl with dark hair about her height. “Utsutsu? What are you doing here?”

Mikado could barely make out the dark-haired girl’s shape or her words as she spoke. “Hajime told me to come.”

“Oh. She’s right over there.” Rui turned back and gestured towards the table. “Look, I’m off for now, but I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Okay. Bye Rui.”

“Bye, Utsutsu. Have fun.” Rui replied. She turned back once more to wave and then made her way out the door, skirt flouncing all the while.

A male voice spoke behind Utsutsu. As soon as he heard it, Mikado sat straight up. “Who was that?”

“A friend. Come on, Hajime is inside.”

“Utsutsu, I really don’t think I should be here.”

“Don’t be silly. I’m here. You’ll be safe.”

“But I don’t –”

“Look, there she is now.”

Utsutsu stormed forward into the restaurant, waving at Hajime as she went. Hajime waved back. But Mikado wasn’t looking. He’d recognized the voice when Utsutsu was talking. But that couldn’t be. He didn’t believe it.

Kida Masaomi walked through the doorway into Russia Sushi like a man on the way to his execution. He looked up to where Mikado and Hajime sat. His eyes went wide.

Mikado looked at Kida, and said the only thing he could think to say. “Welcome home.”

“Simon!” Hajime piped up. “Can we get two more plates of sushi, please?”

“More sushi! Coming right up!” Simon boomed back.

Kida walked over to the table slowly and sat down across from Mikado. Mikado held his breath.

“Hi.”

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly this is one of those crossovers so obscure that I debated even posting it, but the person I wrote it for - [blooper-boy](blooper-boy.tumblr.com), for her birthday - really wanted me to, so here it is in public, being the weird thing that it is. It actually _was_ my idea that a crossover between these two series would be rad, though.
> 
> Thank you for reading, hypothetical stranger who has eerily similar anime tastes to mine.


End file.
